jeff

My bro suggested that I check out an indie flick called "Once." It just arrived via NetFlix yesterday and I sunk into the couch to watch it. The description on the NetFlix cover was pretty lame, but I quickly realized that there was something really great about the film. Sure, it's got that "shaky screen" element of an indie (almost like it was being filmed by a camcorder), but it's really something all artists should check out. It's about a struggling musician (played by Glen Hansard) who repairs vacuum cleaners for his father and performs on the street to pursue his dream. While performing one evening, he randomly meets a migrant Czech worker (Markéta Irglová) and over the course of a week, they perform, write, and record music together. Without giving too much away, my advice: go rent it.



The other comment I'll make is that the music was really great. There was a haunting element to the music that often would build to this really powerful emotional (almost scream-like) point. I later found out that the actors wrote all of the music and they won a Grammy for the Best Song Written for a Motion Picture (by the way, that's not a reason enough to listen to the music...). There was just something about the songs that made my hair stand up.

There were moments in the movie that made me think, "Shit, this is why we started Fuzz." It was another reminder that it's brutally difficult trying to make it as an artist - barely making ends meet, dealing with failure, working hard, but with a little luck and someone who believes in you, there's a chance to pursue one's dreams - to follow one's passion through music. Don't expect the movie to completely blow your socks off, but the underlying messages are extremely powerful and inspiring... at least they were for me... and I think they will be for you too.

J